sickle cell

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Sickle cell disease is an inherited disease where the red blood cells in the body are produced abnormally by bone marrow as crescent shaped red blood cells. Unlike normal red blood cells, sickle shaped cells are unable to deliver much oxygen to other parts of the body due to the abnormal hemoglobin. Sickle cell’s are stiff and sticky and tend to clump together between blood vessels that can cause pain, damage to the organs, and infections. If a child inherits this disease they can be healthy throughout their life or need special care. “In the United States, SCD is most common among blacks and Hispanics. SCD affects about 1 in 500 black births and about 1 in 36,000 Hispanic births in this country. SCD is also common among people with family from Africa, the Caribbean, Greece, India, Italy, Malta, Sardinia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey or South or Central America (March of Dimes)”.
Unfortunately this disease is passed down from the parent to the child genetically. “If both parents have sickle cell trait (each have one normal hemoglobin gene and one sickle cell gene), the child has a 50% chance of inheriting sickle cell trait (one normal gene, one sickle cell gene), 25% chance of inheriting sickle cell disease (two sickle cell genes), and 25% chance of not inheriting either the trait or the disease (two normal genes) (Harvey)”.
The child can obtain either the sickle cell trait or have a sickle cell disease. The sickle cell trait carries the abnormal gene of the person but they have normal hemoglobin without any symptoms. The patient can start developing symptoms related to the disease if they undergo any stress, infection, exhaustion, or hypoxia with mild anemia. Sickle cell disease occurs when normal hemoglobin has been replaced with sick...

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...minophen (NIH).” Additionally, Hydroxyurea (Droxia) is prescribed that diminishes the rate of recurrence of pain and acute chest-syndrome in patients.
Sickle cell disease can be very discomforting and painful for those who suffer with the symptoms that it brings interrupting the lives of patients. Even though sickle cell disease has no cure it can still be managed to where the patient can live a comfortable life.

Works Cited

"Sickle Cell Disease and Your Baby." Sickle Cell Disease and Your Baby. March of Dimes, Mar. 2013. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.

Simmon, Harvey. "Sickle Cell Disease." University of Maryland Medical Center. N.p., 14 Mar. 2013. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.

"Sickle Cell Research: Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment and Recent Developments | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2011. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.

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